Uber can’t be defeated from the outside—but maybe from within

Alex Rosenblat

D&S researcher Alex Rosenblat, along with Luke Stark, was quoted in this Maclean’s article discussing how drivers may bring changes to the driving sharing economy.

They concluded that the very ideas Uber uses to promote itself and its business model might not necessarily be what they seem. “Uber’s claims regarding its labour model—which center on freedom, flexibility, and entrepreneurship—are not borne out in the experience of Uber drivers, in large part due to the information asymmetries and controls that Uber exerts over driver behaviours through performance metrics, behavioural nudges, unreliable, dynamic rates, and scheduling prompts, and design.”